Korsana Biosciences and Cyclerion Therapeutics have reached a definitive merger agreement under which the combined company will take the Korsana name. An announcement of the pact on April 1, 2026 characterized it as an all-stock transaction. Official closing is coming in the third quarter of the year.

Cyclerion, Korsana Histories Prior to Merger

Previously, Cyclerion Therapeutics was a biopharmaceutical company focusing on treatments for neuropsychiatric diseases. Its foundational product candidate CYC-126 is an individualized therapy for treatment-resistant depression.

Cyclerion now joins Korsana, a biotechnology company—heretofore privately held—discovering and developing novel therapies to reduce neurodegenerative disease burden. The combined company will henceforth trade on Nasdaq under the stock symbol KRSA.

Prior to this merger, Korsana had been the seventh company to launch with assets discovered or developed by Paragon Therapeutics. Among these is Korsana’s lead program, KRSA-028, a next-generation shuttled antibody targeting amyloid beta for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.

Korsana President and CEO Jonathan Violin, PhD, addressed the potential of KRSA-028.

“Patients deserve better options than what is currently available,” Violin said. “We believe our lead program KRSA-028 can deliver a best-in-class product to treat Alzheimer’s disease. We are also building a broader pipeline leveraging our proprietary platform to target other devastating neurodegenerative disorders.”

Financial Terms of the Merge

Korsana secured commitments for an oversubscribed private investment, supporting the merger, expected to result in gross proceeds approximating $380 million. Fairmount and Venrock Healthcare Partners led the syndicate of investors.

Also participating:

• General Atlantic
• TCGX
• Forbion
• Wellington Management
• Commodore Capital
• RA Capital Management
• RTW Investments
• Vivo Capital
• Janus Henderson Investors
• Foresite Capital
• J.P. Morgan Life Sciences Private Capital
• SR One
• Sanofi Ventures
• Kalehua Capital
• Spruce Street Capital

“Our transaction with Korsana is the result of a comprehensive strategic review,” said Regina Graul, PhD, Cyclerion President and CEO. “We believe it represents the best path forward for Cyclerion. Korsana’s promising and innovative pipeline targeting neurodegenerative disorders, beginning with Alzheimer’s disease, provides the potential for significant value creation.”

The financing will fund Korsana’s operations into the year 2029, and provide a runway through key clinical milestones. These include the advancement of KRSA-028 through Phase I healthy volunteer data. That development should come by mid-2027.